Elmont Online

New York Power Authority President and CEO Richard Kessel will be stepping down Sept. 6, the Times Union has learned.

A former director of the state Consumer Protection Board who went on to head the Long Island Power Authority before coming to NYPA, Kessel had drawn fire for making grants to non-profit groups.

While the authority, which operates numerous power stations, is an independent agency, the president by tradition serves at the governor's pleasure.

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo was attorney general, he had criticized the grants, as has Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. State Inspector General Ellen Biben is also looking into the grants, some of which have gone to politically connected organizations.

After taking office in 2008, Kessel pushed to develop wind power projects in Western New York and was credited with improving the way hydropower is allocated, especially among upstate industrial users.

Kessel's service in state government dates to the 1980s when he ran the Consumer Protection Board, where he negotiated rate freezes with major utilities.

In 1989, he was named by Gov. Mario Cuomo as chairman of the Long Island Power Authority. Kessel led the effort, supported by Cuomo, to decommission the Shoreham nuclear power plant.

He remained on during the Pataki administration and was known to reach out to politicians on both sides of the aisle.

He drew fire for hiring to the authority what critics said were politically connected people.

Kessel's resignation came as a surprise to one observer, who said he had helped Andrew Cuomo with his gubernatorial campaign in part due to his access to deep-pocketed business leaders through his work at the Power Authority.

"At the Power Authority you deal with every corporation," he said.